1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved process for the production of hydroxyamines from oxyalkylated alpha methyl glucoside. More particularly, this invention relates to a catalytic process for the conversion of oxyalkylated alkyl methyl glucoside feedstocks to products useful as gas scrubbing agents, epoxy resin curatives, polyurethane precursors, etc., wherein the feedstock is brought into contact with a reductive amination catalyst in the presence of about 1 to about 200 moles of ammonia per mole of feedstock and about 0.1 to about 50 mole of hydrogen per mole of feedstock at a temperature within the range of about 120.degree. to about 250.degree. C. and a pressure within the range of about 200 to about 5000 psig.
2. Prior Art
Watts et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,253 discloses the reductive amination of starch derivatives. For example, a starch oxidized with an oxidizing agent such as sodium hypochlorite (i.e., a so-called "dialdehyde" starch) is reductively aminated with a dialkyl amine in the presence of a reductive amination catalyst and hydrogen. Watts et al. teach that known reductive amination catalysts such as those including one or more of the metals copper, nickel, cobalt, chromium, aluminum, manganese, platinum, palladium and rhodium and the oxides of these metals may be used. Additional nonreducible metal oxides such as chromium oxide, molybdenum oxide and manganese oxide may also be included in the catalyst compositions.
In Klein U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,172, a process is disclosed wherein a polyhydric initiator such as sucrose is reacted with ammonia in the presence of an alkylene oxide such as ethylene oxide or propylene oxide. In an example, an aqueous solution of sucrose to which ammonia had been added with pressure was reacted with ethylene oxide and then with propylene oxide to give a polyol product useful as a raw material in the manufacture of polyurethanes.
A wide variety of reductive amination catalysts are known. For example, Moss U.S. Pat. No. 3,152,998 discloses a nickel, copper, chromia catalyst. Habermann U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,581 discloses reductive amination catalysts comprising cobalt, copper and a third component selected from the group consisting of iron, zinc, zirconium and mixtures thereof. Boettger et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,933 discloses the use of a cobalt, nickel and copper catalyst. British Pat. No. 1,530,570 discloses that reductive amination catalysts (hydrogenations/dehydrogenation catalysts) can suitably be prepared from cobalt, nickel, chromium, copper, manganese, molybdenum, palladium, platinum and rhodium and that such catalysts may contain mixtures of such metals.